


From Soup to Nuts

by gardener



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1950s, Assassins & Hitmen, Crimes & Criminals, M/M, Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-21
Updated: 2015-03-30
Packaged: 2018-03-18 23:38:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3588219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gardener/pseuds/gardener
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was when Luke thought for a split second that he knew life thoroughly, from soup to nuts, that he realized behind the horizon he had always seen so sharply, was a whole other world. A whole other world that was waiting for him, every morning when he rose from his uncomfortable bed and thought it could not get a lot worse.<br/>Maybe, if he had known beforehand that it would go like this, he would have never ran away, that August in 1950. But in all honestly, no, he would not have done it any differently. Because if he would have, there was no chance he would have met the one he loved now. He would have never met Ashton and that thought was a whole lot more frightening than the thought of his current life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

1950

Sydney

Luke was found by Ashton, Calum and Michael when he was fourteen, in 1950, and they had decided to take him under their wings. Luke’s parents were only sixteen when they got him, there was a lot of fighting and they decided to send him to an orphanage. He sauntered around the street during the time in which he stayed in five different houses, but he stayed good until he was fourteen. They had found him as a crying mess on the corner of the street, bleeding from wounds on his hands and feet. He had fallen over, he claimed, when he ran away from the orphanage he stayed at right then. Later, when they had taken him in (partly against Luke’s own will), he told them that he was beaten by the owner of the house, who had troubles containing his aggression and took it out on innocents, which were often the children in the house.

They let him in on their “secret” a month or two later, but the poor thing was only fourteen and he cried his lungs out when they told him what they did for a living. Stealing, killing, harming. He shut them out for two weeks, dead afraid of the boys he lived with. He would not talk to them, was afraid they would harm him. Nobody could come close without him yelling and kicking them with an incredibly force (they didn’t assume he had in him).

After those two weeks of sleepless nights for all of them and somebody staying home always to watch him – preventing him from telling the police about their escapades and harming himself, he decided it was no use to shut them out. They would try getting him to talk to them anyways and eventually he would have to give in. So he did. Ashton coaxed him to sleep in bed with him instead of on the uncomfortable couch every night.

Seven months later, he committed his first crime. He was almost fifteen, then, it was end June 1951. It was a simple mission, he would rob a woman from her expensive coat. They congratulated him on his first robbery and told him to keep the coat as a memory to his first crime. He didn’t sleep for two nights, the coat hanging on the hanger being a cold reminder to the bad he had done, and cried a lot. At night, he even sobbed into Ashton’s chest. He soothed him until he fell asleep. Two days later, they sold the mantle for fifty dollars to a woman with an infant child. Luke slept fine again after that, if not still a little restless from the crime he had committed days before.

Within his fifteenth live year, the only thing he really did was steal little things such as food and coins he found on saucers at public toilets. Once in a while, the boys would take him with them when they went to do a large job. This was confronting for Luke, so _this_ was what they did nearly every day. It were things like robbing a store or house, commit fraud or deal drugs.

The first time he witnessed a murder, was that Indian summer in September. Ashton held him that night, telling him that what he was going to do tomorrow, would never happen to Luke. He promised to keep him safe at all costs. Ashton bore an oath that night. He chanted a verse his father had taught him. Luke didn’t understand it.

The next day, Ashton slaughtered a man in front of Luke’s eyes. He showed the victim a photograph of his young daughter before slashing his bare throat with a knife. Luke dove into Michael’s chest when he heard the man scream in pain, the elder covered his eyes and held him tightly. Ashton made sure all their traces were vanished before wrapping the corpse in plastic and carefully making him float into the water.

Luke wouldn’t speak to Ashton for seven days after that. He slept in between Michael and Calum, who cursed him silently for being the barricade keeping them from their pleasures. After that week, he had gotten over it, but was still on the qui vive.

To give Luke a little credit, he did not know that Michael slept with Calum until he found them being carnal on the couch one night when he came home from the city with Ashton. The eldest had covered Luke’s eyes and brought him to their bedroom. He locked the door. Luke heard him talk to Michael and Calum about how they must not do that with him around. If they were that desperate to _fornicate_ (that was the word he spat out) they would have to do it in their bedroom with the door locked. He then came back to Luke and told them he would not have to see that again. Luke nodded and stayed quiet.

Luke knew he was in love with Ashton the moment he caught himself watching every move the elder made and couldn’t stop thinking of him as fascinating. He could only think positive of Ashton. It was almost nauseating.

In February 1952, Ashton was drunk. Michael and Calum were tipsy only.  They had not allowed Luke to drink more than one bottle of beer, which he did not like, but drank because he wanted to be man as the others. Ashton then pushed him against the wall and proceeded to kiss him lustfully. Michael pulled the elder off of Luke and slapped him across the face. The loud whack that echoed through the room shut everybody up.

‘You are drunk,’ he said. ‘Go to bed, Ashton. Luke will sleep with us tonight.’

‘Do not touch him!’ Ashton repeated over and over. ‘He is mine!’ Luke slept in between Michael and Calum.

The next morning, he rose early and made Ashton breakfast. He stole the key from Michael’s pocket and opened their bedroom. The elder apologized for the previous night. Luke kissed him after he finished his porridge. He blushed, Ashton stroked his cheek.

‘I did not know you liked me,’ said Luke then with rosy cheeks.

‘I do not,’ Ashton answered simply. ‘I _love_ you.’

There was this time in May. They robbed Banque de Galatée, an originally French bank next to the harbor. They then brought the money home and swam in the sea like rich men. When they went back to their cot, their home was being stripped from their properties. From a distance, they saw three police officers stand in front of the place. They did not have the time to get any of their things back, felt lucky that they had taken their most valuable belongings with them, and went on the road to search for a new place to live in. They slept in sheds of farms on hay for fifteen nights. Luke had a fever. He cried a lot and it was a bad time for him to be incapable of walking long distances. At night, he had feverish nightmares. Ashton would splash water in his face. They all did not sleep well.

Eventually, they found a small chalet in between two mountains. It was old, there was nobody there and no signs of anybody having been there shortly, so they put their hopes and effort in refurbishing the chalet. They stole white wood paint and brushes from a local store and painted the place in two days. They got two double matrasses and splintery wooden bed frames from a connection in Rozelle. Calum scraped and scrubbed them to be smooth and Luke layered them with wood varnish whilst Ashton and Michael went on the hunt for food and fresh water. It was not long until they were gathered around a fire between the mountains, singing and drinking root beer.

Two of them stayed up half the night and slept in. The other two went to bed early and fairly rose early as well. The latter couple made breakfast for all of them and served it. The first pair did a night duty of robbery or _cleaning_. First there was little ask for them, only thirty days later people showed up in Sydney, sent to them by Herbert Bancroft, their friend from Petersham. At least three to four nights a week, they had a murdering to do. Luke was excluded from those nights. He then went to bed early and got up in waking hours, which was usually around six. For their clients, Ashton went by the name of Francisco, Calum went by Erick, Michael became Hubert and Luke was Maverick. They got paid well and were less short on food. Sometimes they bought more expensive foods, even. Water they had enough of, now, and it was a respiration for them.

Luke had grown his hair. The blonde lied on his back, it was just over his shoulders. Ashton braided it every morning. He wore white blouses with suspenders and jeans now that he was sixteen. He often wore a white cotton hair cap that was tied by his neck. The bones of his gaunt cheeks became more prominent, his blue eyes grew darker.

He and Ashton kissed often, Michael and Calum did not approve on this, but they also knew that they could not possibly forbid them to have relations. Ashton, after all, had not approved on Michael and Calum being together either, at first. He had gotten used to it by now. He loved them both like brothers. He loved Luke as companion, lover perhaps.

Luke loved Ashton like that, too.


	2. Chapter 2

‘Have I told you, how much I love you?’ Ashton asked relentlessly. They sat in the warm bed of grass surrounding their chalet. The elder brushed Luke’s half long hair carefully. His actions were  tender, as if he caressed the pelt of a doe. Between his lengthy brushes, he touched the skin of Luke’s neck. He kissed it, too, once every seven sweeps.

‘You may have,’ the blonde smiled. ‘but I would not mind you saying it again.’ Even after a hundred times, he would still crave the sound of Ashton Irwin’s voice speaking to him as regards his loving towards the younger. The words that left his mouth towards Luke were always spoken as though he talked to his most cherished belonging. Perhaps he was. Ashton began taking three strands of hair in his hands. He braided them.

‘I think I may, in fact, love you more than my father loved my mother,’ he said. His fingers worked scrupulously. ‘That is an achievement, honestly. He choose her over me, his blood and flesh. She was a beautiful woman, Luke. I think he had fallen for her looks before he had gotten to know her at all. They married when they got sixteen. My father promised her father, my grandfather, that he would protect her with his life. He gave me up to be with her. I think that might have been where things went wrong.’

‘What happened?’ Luke asked, curiously. Ashton’s fists clenched, he yanked the blossoming’s hair in the movement. Luke groaned. He bit his lower lip in pain and felt a flow of blood coming from it. It tasted metallic on his tongue.

Ashton apologized. He told Luke the story of how his father let his mother’s hand slip when they were on sea, because he was too afraid something would happen to him if he held onto her. She got eaten by sharks. He got murdered by an assassin sent by Ashton’s grandfather,  his mother’s father. He had broken the aid. Apparently he thought his life was worth more than his. That was how Ashton thought. Luke did not know what he would have done in that situation. It is human instinct to save yourself. She was practically lost, already. It would have been another death for nothing, if he had held onto her for dear life. Although that obviously would not have made a difference, considering he got shot in the head three days later.

‘It would have definitely been a prettier story if they had died together, in that moment,’ Luke said. Ashton agreed. The elder finished braiding his hair. He had made two plaits. They looked neat, both. Ashton asked for permission to kiss him, Luke said to proceed. Until Michael and Calum came home, the two cosseted on the green.

They were asked to come to Marrickville, that same week, and went by road tram. The keeper of Eastbound Bank, Frederic L. Tolston, had invited them for _small talk_ about said, “duties for financial payments”. Ashton dressed Luke up in a light blue button-up and grey dress pants. He himself put on tweed trousers and a red turtleneck. He wore ivory framed glasses, too.  Michael dressed in Bordeaux pants and a grey crewneck, Calum wore white trousers, an ash checkered T with beige suspenders and a charcoal hat. Ashton put Luke’s hair up in an uncomfortably tight bun. He said nothing.

Tolston’s office was big. There was an abundance of leather and expensive paintings, among others Luke noticed Karel Appel and Picasso. Ashton had told him to remain silent, unless Frederic asked _him_ something in particular. He would speak.  Undoubtedly, he did not want to mismanage this. He had told his men that this was their chance to make a hefty capital. This was their chance on wealth, according to Ashton. Tolston had a large handlebar mustache and grey hair. He smoked a pipe in his office. Ashton, Michael and Calum did too. Ashton did not allow Luke. They drank scotch. Frederic spoke articulately. He gave subtle hints as to what he targeted on.

‘I have a connection in Rozelle,’ he eventually said. His fat body moved with every word he spoke. Luke was disgusted. ‘He must die. What he has done to me, does not matter. I want him to see a banknote before he drowns. It must look like suicide.’ He took a sip from his scotch. It looked more like a gulp to Luke, but he did not know how whiskey was supposed to be drunken. ‘I am old, too old to accomplish this task. You are young and swift. He shall drown in the Parramatta River.’

‘What is this male’s name?’ Ashton asked, determined to fulfill whatever mister Tolston asked from him. Frederic looked up from his slickly varnished mahogany desk.

‘Donovan Wright,’ he answered. Luke’s breath got stuck in his throat. He started hyperventilating shortly after. Donovan Wright was their _friend_. He had arranged their beds for them in recent past and had done so much more for them. Donovan had shipped them food when they nearly starved, a year ago. He would send them a letter every once in a while. They had good contact. The look on Ashton’s face gave it away: he would murder him if that equaled wealth for them. Calum placed a hand on his lower back. He rubbed over his blouse, in an effort to comfort the blossoming. It did not work.

‘That is our friend,’ Luke spat out. ‘I will not murder my friend!’

‘Of course we will,’ Ashton disagreed. ‘He is our connection, too, mister Tolston. We will, however, get rid of him if that is what you wish, Sir.’

‘No!’ screamed the blonde. ‘We will not!’

‘Calum, will you take him out, please?’ The brunet took him out of the office. They sat down on a bench in front of the building, outdoors. It had rained earlier, the bench was humid. Luke cried. He cursed Ashton.

Luke wanted to torture Ashton. He wanted him to feel clenched, as if he was lost. Because Luke was and it was an unpleasant feeling. He wanted to hate Ashton, part of him did. Did he have no compassion, whatsoever? How could he possibly accept an order of asphyxiating a _friend_? Normally, he did not advocate in stealing things that were unnecessary. It was a bad thing to steal, at all, he knew, but robbing others from things he did not unconditionally need, he found even worse. Desperate times, called for desperate measures. He stole lace unmentionables and garter belts with a single stocking strap. He dressed up in lingerie and let his blonde hair hang down over his shoulders, a single strand hanging in front of his eyes. He waited in the bedroom. Ashton could not touch him. He was a minor, he had no permission.

‘Luke, please, do not do this,’ Ashton whined as he crawled over the bed, towards Luke who sat against the headboard with his legs spread.  ‘Please, love, close your legs, sweetheart. Close your legs, put on your gown. Please, Luke, I am begging you, my love.’ Luke shook his head and licked his soft, pink lips. ‘You cannot do this, my dearest, you cannot do this to me.’ Obviously, though, he could.

They had a sharp deadline of four days to drown Donovan Wright. It was short day, so. Luke could not stop tearing up every time they talked about the plan and every time, Michael or Calum had to take him outside and help him breath properly. Ashton could not do this, as Luke blamed him. Could they not live without mass wealth? They were fine like this, the blonde thought. They had enough food and a fine chalet to live in. What else did they want? Fifty-thousand dollars were offered. Ashton was resolute, he was going to murder Donovan, whether the others agreed or not.

Friday, they went to Rozelle by train. Ashton held Luke’s hand. They arrived at 12.34 AM. It was dark and rained slightly. Luke was scared. Ashton held onto him tightly until they reached Donovan’s house. They asked him if he wanted to come to Parramatta. He was enthusiastic and joined. They wanted to swim, Ashton told him, because the water was warm here and the rain cold. Luke started crying unrestrainedly, the moment they arrived there. He heard Ashton mutter about wishing they had left him at home. He slid Donovan’s wrists and tied a heavy weight around his neck while Calum and Michael held him.  Luke showed him the banknote, shaking, and Donovan groaned Tolston’s name. Ashton threw him into the river. They went straight to Frederic to receive the money. They got their fifty-thousand dollars in a leather suitcase that was worth at least three hundred dollars as well. After, the boys went home. Luke lay awake that night. Ashton constantly tried covering Luke’s ears with his hands, to keep him from hearing the sounds of lovemaking at the other side of the thin wall, but the blonde did not want him to baby him like that. He had been actual part of a murder, this time, and he felt the adrenaline rush through his veins, still.

‘Ashton?’ asked Luke. The sounds had gotten less, now, but they were still louder than they could have been. The elder turned onto his side, to look at the blossoming.

‘Yes, Luke?’ he let the boy know he had heard him.

‘I want to sleep with you,’ Luke whispered and touched Ashton’s face. The dirty blonde captured his hand, quickly, and held it in his. Luke was fascinated by Ashton’s hands. They were grand and his fingers were amazingly long.

‘Do not say that,’ he said, harshly, and turned onto his other side. Luke felt as if he was being kicked in the stomach, right then. He did not want to sleep with him. With a lump in his throat, large as a tennis ball, he eventually fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

They did not speak of that night again. Luke waited patiently for Ashton to bring it up, but he never did. The blonde’s desires were still there, but he thought they would always be there, so he remained mellow. Luke thought that the time, wherein his lover would sleep with him, would come. Quicker even if he did not force himself, maybe.  Nights upon nights elapsed. The blossoming said nothing until the elder would speak to him.

For weeks, they lived as rich men. Ashton took his friends and lover out for dinner at least three times a week. They ate tender meat and costly vegetables and they drank imported wine from Sardinia. Luke enjoyed the attention he got from his dearest. Ashton bought him gifts. The younger feared them. He was sure that the elder did this only, to make Luke forget about that dreaded night of embarrassment in August. He did not. If anything, it made him more aware of the situation. Ashton seemed to think that buying him presents was the same as making love to him, Luke thought, and it hurt him. Did he not love him enough to be intimate with him? The blonde loved him enough to give him his purity, which he earlier promised himself to hold on to for dear life. It was unfair.

Calum decently invited Luke on an evening in October to come with him to Alexandria. He wanted to decorate. They would take the eight o’clock train and be there fifteen minutes later to buy bush flowers and Golden Wattle. The flowers were expensive but beautiful, they bought four bunches and went back to their chalet. Luke dreamt about a severe loss of money that night and awoke Ashton from his deep drift. He asked him if they were being economically enough with their cents. The elder answered yes and gave no further explanation. Luke questioned about their duties and why they never went out to murder anymore. Living this expensive would not last long, he thought, his fingers tapping on his chin. Ashton said not to worry so much. They would not have to live as rich men forever, it was just a thing he wanted to enjoy, for now.

End November, they were as short on money as they had been before their murder on Donovan Wright. Ashton said to have no regrets. He longed back to the life they had before they became prosperous. Michael and Calum agreed. Luke did not. He wondered why they would go on deceasing the innocent if they could have as well saved their capital and spent it in little proportions.  Now they would have to turn back to assassinating and stealing from others. Michael turned nineteen on the twentieth of that month. They celebrated with Herbert Bancroft and his brother, Anton, in Darlinghurst. They ate a cheap dish of pasta salad with tangerines, celery and grilled chicken filet together and talked about Michaels’ thus far nineteen decent years of living. They spoke about him and Calum when they were drunk, later in the night. Ashton had, once again, not allowed Luke to drink the beer they all drank. He drank bottle after bottle of _Coca-Cola_ until his stomach ached from supererogatory carbonic acids and sugar. Luke thought about luring Ashton into his bed that night, as he did not think he would be able to control himself as drunk as he was at that moment. He decided not to. It could never end well. Luke did not want Ashton hating him the next day. Though, he desperately wanted to sleep with him. At least know the reason why Ashton did _not_.

‘What are you writing?’ Michael asked Ashton. The elder was seated at the coffee table, a fresh brew in front of him besides a paper. He held a crown pen. The younger blonde sat down next to him. Ashton bit his lower lip.

‘Frederic Tolston sent us a letter,’ he answered. ‘I am writing back.’

‘Why do you not share such information with us?’ asked Michael directly. ‘We are a team, Ashton. If you receive a letter, you must let us know about it. Especially when it is from Tolston, or anybody other from high prevalence.’

‘I will be the one to decide whether or not I share this with you, Clifford,’ Ashton snarled, an annoyed undertone in his voice. He sounded over caffeinated. He sighed. ‘I am sorry, Michael. Things have just been a bit rough lately, money wise, and I am trying very hard to get it all back on track. We want to be able to bathe properly, do we not? We cannot afford clean water at the moment. Tolston made a compromise with one Maximillian Godfrey, about his brother Winston. He has, apparently, rented one hundred thousand dollars from Maximillian and then proceeded to move to Perth. Frederic says, in this letter,’ he handed the paper to Michael. ‘that he was very content with our last accomplishment, regarding Donovan, and that he wants to hire us for this task as well.’

‘And? What are you writing back?’ Michael asked, curiously, his eyes scanning the letter he had gotten pushed in his hands seconds ago. ‘Are we taking the job? What kind of money can we make? What are we supposed to do _anyways_?’

‘We can’t,’ Ashton sighed. ‘If we took it, we would have to go all the way to Perth. He said to pay for air transport, but there would be nobody to watch our chalet. The chances of us getting back and being robbed from our properties are too big. We do not live here legally, so we cannot simply ask somebody to watch the place for us. No man of Tolston’s, either. It is no bad fellow, but I will not trust him with such a thing.’ He paused for a moment, took a sip from his coffee. He drank it black. ‘Besides, I doubt Luke will dare to travel by airplane. We all never have, have we?’ Michael shook his head. ‘So, what do you think? How shall I formulate that we would have taken the job if it were not for these issues? I refuse to risk the chance of him never hiring us again.’

‘I may or may not have eavesdropped from the bedroom,’ Luke said, who walked in on the tips of his toes, head held high. ‘I heard my name fall in a sentence that contained the word _airplane_. Do you see me as such a coward, Ash? Of course I dare to fly!’

‘That was never the only issue, darling,’ the elder smiled and gestured him to take place in his lap. The blonde dropped himself, including his lanky limbs he had grown very suddenly and did not yet knew how to control properly, into Ashton’s brace. ‘We have been asked for a task in Perth. I think Tolston wants us to rob Maximillian’s brother from the one hundred thousand dollars he has fairly practically stolen. Perhaps murder him as well, but that does not stand in the letter clearly.’ He kissed Luke’s skin tenderly. He smelled like vinegar from his cooking earlier. ‘You need to bathe, dear.’

‘Will you bathe with me?’ Luke asked quickly, eager as a child who sees the chance to play football with their hero. He looked so hopeful. Ashton squeezed his shoulders softly.

‘I do not think I will be able to contain myself when you are nude, Luke,’ Ashton sighed. Calum noticed this to be a personal thing and left the kitchen.

‘But you do not need to contain yourself!’ he yelled, hopelessly. ‘I _want_ to sleep with you! Whether that must be in the bath tub, our bed, on the couch, outdoors on the grass, even! Why do you want to contain yourself so badly, Ash? It is unnecessary to the bone. I love you! Why won’t you make love to me?’ Luke sobbed and tried standing up from Ashton’s lap. The elder pulled him back and wrapped his arms tightly around his dainty waist. ‘Why, Ashton? I beg you to tell me why. It is killing me not to know what I am doing wrong! I have considered sleeping with you when you were drunk, even. Please, Ashton!’

‘Stop acting so improper, Luke,’ the elder said, sternly. ‘I do want to sleep with you. I just cannot do it until you are eighteen.’

‘Ashton, I will not be eighteen until two years from now!’ he yelled.

‘Quit yelling at me,’ Ashton said, hard handedly grabbing his dearest by the neck and forcing him to look him in the eyes. ‘Then that means you need to wait two years, Luke.’

‘I do not think that is particularly fair,’ the blossoming said. He pressed his lips into Ashton’s neck, seductively. The elder yanked his long hair. Luke screamed in pain, very nearly lashing the elder in the face. Ashton captured his hands in time.

‘Go bathe, now,’ he growled and threw the younger out of his lap. He dragged him towards the bathroom and swung open the tap to let the water flow into the tub. ‘I will sleep with you when I think you are ready.’

‘I am!’ Luke cried. ‘I am ready, Ashton! I swear, I _am_ ready!’

‘I do not want to fight,’ Ashton said. ‘Can you come here, please, darling? I want to embrace you for a minute now and then you can go bathe. Is that okay?’ Luke looked up with bloodshot eyes from crying and nodded. There was no crossing swords with Ashton, anyways, it would only make things worse. Ashton embraced him. He rubbed his lower back. ‘I do love you, you know that, right?’

‘Then why won’t you make love to me?’

‘You are too young, Luke,’ he smiled and kissed his forehead protectively. ‘I do not want to take your purity at sixteen. We will wait, together.’

‘Will you sleep with others?’

‘No.’

‘Promise?’

‘Promise.’


	4. Chapter 4

It was February, the sun shone with incredible radiation and made the hall hot through the glass ceiling. Luke sat on a wooden bench. The floor consisted of ceramic tiles. He sat alone. A distrustful feeling settled in his stomach. It had been over an hour, since the three of his friends had gone into the parlor to talk, said, _business_. He flicked his braids around his slender fingers. There were large blisters on his feet from walking all day. The way from Camperdown to Dowes Point had been too much, in all obviousness. His dainty feet were overworked and destroyed.

‘Hello, mister,’ a young woman approached him. She had dark blonde hair and green eyes. Her cheeks were freckly. She wore a denim knee-length dress with short sleeves and pockets on her breasts and a Chelsea collar. The waist was adorned with a stretch line, but she was very slim. ‘I noticed you have been sitting here for over an hour, now. Can I offer you a scotch?’ Luke doubted for a second, but nodded soon after. Ashton was not here to keep him from it. They drank scotch together and got to know each other while Ashton, Michael and Calum were still busy inside the parlor. Her name was Marjorie Pritchard and she was mister Sawyer’s assistant. Her _preference_ went out to blonde boys with a good sense of humor. Luke was too oblivious to see she was trying to seduce him until she said that. He laughed.

At home, that night, Ashton told Luke about their plans of moving to Brisbane. In Dowes Point they had spoken to one Huw Griffith and he had given them a map full of tasks they could fulfill in and around Brisbane. In Sydney, it had been a very slow two months and they needed to make money. They packed their most valuable properties the same week and travelled to Brisbane by train. It was a journey of nearly fifteen hour. They were drained from their energy when they arrived, too focused on staying alert and not getting caught on their fare dodging. Fortunately, in the many trains they had to get on, they did not get arrested.

The first week, they slept in a tent of rather decent size. That, however, meant no sexual intercourse for Michael and Calum as they slept very closely to each other, and a lack of fresh water and food supplies.  They later found a log cabin on the edge of the forest that slightly reminded them of their first cot. It was very old and abandoned, but the place was amazing. There was a lake right in front of the cottage. Calum said that he only saw some fish and turtles in it, but did not think it was a good idea to take a dip. There could be Goliath spiders and snakes around. There was a large meadow with horses closely next to the place. Luke immediately made a new friend in a leopard horse. There was one sharply sanded wooden double bedframe. It was a luxury that such a thing was actually in the cottage, already. Another frame did not fit in the single bedroom there was. Michael picked up another frame from an exchange fair downtown, giving a replica of a gold bar that looked exceedingly authentic in return. He used the same method to “buy” two double matrasses from a thrift shop. Luke and Calum went on the hunt for food and fresh water. In meanwhile, Ashton made sure they had water in their taps that came straight from the lake. He had not seen such a thing before, but it was a great purification system that would save them a lot of effort and money. The others came back one by one. Michael first, whom he complained with about their lack of coffee and alcohol. They smoked cigarettes together. Calum walked in thirty minutes after, not having Luke by his side. He explained that the blonde wanted to spend some time with the horse he had become friends with. Ashton disgusted himself for being jealous of an animal, but could not help it.

Luke had a good time, brushing her mane with his fingers and talking to her as if she knew exactly what he was on about. He told the horse about his youth and what they did for a living, and that it made him very sad that they did such things to innocent people. The owner came by and introduced himself as Gabriel Ryder. He was handsome. So much taller than Luke and muscular. His hair was dark and like James Dean’s, his eyes brown as hazelnuts that had been in the sun for quite some time.

‘I did not recognize you as a boy, from a distance,’ Gabriel said. He touched Luke’s braid. The blonde imagined them to be rugged from pulling leather reins while riding horseback. ‘Your hair is so long. In a year it’s gonna be down your spine.’  It was halfway down his spine, now, and the braid he usually wore needed an extra swipe nearly every month. ‘Will you take out the braid for me?’

‘My friend braids it every morning,’ Luke doubted. ‘He will not be happy if I take it out now, only halfway through the day.’ Part of him did not want to make Ashton angry, but another part wanted him to slap or spank him, so he would be sorry and take good care of him afterwards. Man, _was_ he cunning and crafty. ‘Will you take it out for me?’ His long eyelashes fluttered like lemon butterflies as he blinked in quick succession. Gabriel let the hair tie slide off the ends of the braid. He undid the masterpiece. Luke’s hair curled slightly from the tightness of the twist. ‘What is the name of the leopard horse?’

‘Arion,’ Gabriel answered. ‘It is the name of an immortal, extremely swift horse in mythology.’ He patted her flank and pointed at a galloping, chestnut horse. ‘That is my beautiful lady, Marsette.’ Luke watched her run. She walked so gracefully.

‘What does Marsette mean? Something about a historical march?’

‘No!’ Gabriel laughed. ‘It is my favorite treat.’

‘Is it by Mars?’ Luke asked. ‘I had chocolate from Mars one time.’

‘It is,’ he confirmed his guess. ‘Marsettes are chocolate-covered caramel candies. They are about this small,’ he gestured with his thumb and index finger. ‘and out of this world delicious.’ Gabriel stroked Luke’s hair over his shoulder. ‘Shall I bring some, next time I come here? Where do you live, anyways?’ Luke pointed at the hut.

‘I live there, since today,’ he answered. ‘with my three friends.’ Two friends and lover, he thought, but did not say so. ‘When I saw Arion, I was practically in love. She is so beautiful.’ The brunet nodded in agreement.

‘Luke!’ a voice in the distance was heard. Ashton came their way. Man, thought Luke, he cannot ruin this newly found friendship. ‘Calum is almost done cooking, we are eating pasta for dinner. Will you come back to our place, soon?’

‘I am Gabriel Ryder,’ the brunet introduced himself. Ashton shook his hand.

‘Ashton Irwin.’ His hazel eyes looked slightly disapproving. He looked back at Luke, combing his hair slightly with his fingers, then yanked softly. ‘Why are you wearing your hair down?’ Luke giggled quietly.

‘Freedom,’ he answered with a wink.

‘Okay,’ Ashton smiled. He pecked his lips. ‘Will I see you back in a few, _Goldilocks_?’ He nodded quickly. The elder went back to the cabin. Gabriel looked at the blonde.

‘Is that your partner?’ he asked. Luke nodded. Gabriel smiled. ‘I will leave you to go back to your cottage. Will I see you back here, tomorrow? I am riding Arion in the morning.’

‘What time will you be here?’ Luke questioned.

‘Seven o’clock. Can you make that?’ He nodded, said goodbye and went back to his place.

They were loaded with jobs to do. Every day, they would have a task to fulfill and hope that the client was satisfied with their work. They made decent amounts of money, but remained living in their small cabin. Luke saw Gabriel a lot. He taught him how to ride horseback and Luke now had the permission from the brunet to ride Arion on his own. Gabriel was the son of the owner of several warehouses. He was very rich. Luke could ride Arion with no saddle. Gabriel had given him a bridle he could use to ride her. It was real leather. The brunet brought Marsettes nearly every time they saw each other. He often also gave Luke a few rolls he could share with his friends. Ashton was not happy about his friendship. He was possessive over his dear. Calum was not very cheerful about the whole horseback riding with no saddle thing, as he was the one who washed their clothes. Luke’s trousers were an extra charge, brimming with hair from Arion. The thing about being friends with Gabriel, that was to everyone’s satisfaction, was that he would sometimes bring a bag of potatoes or fruits. Vegetables too, sometimes. He knew they were poor and wanted to help a friend. That was great, but Luke felt guilty. If they worked, the way others did, they would have money just like others as well. They were _criminals_ , though Luke still liked to think of himself as goodheartedly.

It was end March when Calum walked into the kitchen, wearing black lace suspender briefs, stockings, a dark see through open blouse and black ankle tie shoes. Michael walked after him, face on infinite. 

‘Why are you wearing that?’ Luke asked. He sat in Ashton’s lap. They were drinking coffee and making a grocery list when the two companions came in.

‘A man hired Calum, darling,’ Ashton answered instead. ‘If he dresses up nicely and does his job well, then the man is going to pay him a lot of money.’

‘Oh.’ Calum cried. Michael gripped him tightly and held in his own tears. ‘Don’t cry, Cal, I love you. It does not matter whom you sleep with.’ Michael cried too, now. ‘Stop crying!’

‘It is okay, love,’ said Ashton. ‘Come, we are going to see that horse of yours. Good luck, Calum. You too, Michael. I love you two.’

‘We love you, too,’ sobbed Calum. ‘Have fun at Arion, tell Luke not to get himself too dirty. I can only think of one pair of shorts he has left clean.’  Ashton smiled and nodded. He then ran after Luke, who had long disappeared into the meadow.

‘Calum said not to make yourself too dirty,’ said Ashton. ‘I think you owe him that. It is no fun, what he is about to do.’ Luke nodded.  Arion was six feet and Luke was as well. They climbed onto the horse via the fence, Luke in the front and Ashton behind him. They rode alongside the streets of Brisbane. Arion was not scared of cars or loud noises. It was silent between the two of them for a long time. Ashton squeezed Luke’s sides once in a while, as if he wanted to let him know that he was still there.

‘Would you ever do that to me?’ Luke asked, eventually, when they were resting to let Arion drink water. ‘Let a man hire me to sleep with me, I mean.’

‘I despise the idea,’ Ashton answered. ‘I know Michael does, too, but it is necessary for us to be able to live. The man we deliver Calum to, is willing to pay a fortune per hour.’ He kissed Luke. ‘The only one who can see you bare, is me.’

‘Do you never want to marry?’ asked the blonde, combing through Arion’s mane. ‘Do you not see a woman in your future? A _wife_?’

‘I do not want a wife, Luke,’ Ashton said. ‘This is no life for marriage and children. It is tough and harsh. A woman cannot handle such things.’

‘Women are great,’ Luke disagreed, shaking his head. ‘I think that, in a lot of ways, they are capable of being so much more successful than men. The thing is, that nobody sees this. They never even get a single chance to prove themselves!’

‘Have you heard of feminism? Women are convinced that they are actually worth more than men! Do you not think that is ridiculous?’

‘You must have interpreted that incorrectly,’ Luke said with force and a fire hitching in the back of his blue eyes. ‘Gabriel told me his mother is a feminist. His father is very rich  and she does everything for _equality_. Feminism equals equality, he has taught me. Do you not think everybody has the same rights?’

‘The _same_ rights, yes, but women should not have more power than men. That could never end well.’

‘Good, because that is also not what feminists are trying to achieve.’

‘They are, though.’

‘Are not!’

‘Are, too.’

That night, whilst Luke lay in Ashton’s arms and the elder slept, he heard Calum sniffle softly through the single wall that separated their rooms. He could not stand the crying, so he decided to see them and ask if there was anything he could do.

‘Where are you going, love?’ asked Ashton when he stepped out of bed.

‘Just going to check on Calum. He is crying.’ The elder pulled him back into the bed, right into his arms. He kissed his forehead softly, lingering for a few seconds.

‘I think he needs some alone time with Michael, now. Go to sleep, darling, you can talk to Calum tomorrow. Mike and I have a job to do. You have Calum for yourself, the whole day.’ That satisfied the blossoming. He fell asleep quickly after that announcement. Luke dreamt of Arion growing large wings and taking him on her back to fly away from this place and therefore all the drama.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feminist!Luke is my aesthetic, I'm not even jOKING


	5. Chapter 5

In the next two months, nothing significant happened. Luke got hooked on cigarettes, mainly because he spent so much time with other smokers and did not want to be the loser or “kid”. Calum got hired by men a lot. Ashton and Michael did a lot of, safely said, killing _sprees_ around Brisbane. The amount of money they made was sublime. They had enough food supplies and fresh water to drink. Everything came down just finely.

Luke’s eyes were red and glassy from all the cannabis he had smoked. Music blasted from the radio in the corner. Michael and Calum were kissing (Luke had convinced himself that they were _just_ kissing) behind Soul’s van. A man with dreadlocks lay down next to him in the grass. He said something Luke could not hear.

‘Hmm?’ he asked for clarification.

‘I was just saying the stars look dope,’ the hippie said. ‘I’m Stone.’

‘Is that your real name?’ giggled Luke. ‘So strange!’

‘Nah,’ he said simply. ‘my real name’s Twan.’ Luke started laughing uncontrollably. He honestly did not know what was so funny himself, either, but there was no way of stopping it.

‘Then why Stone?’

‘Because I smoke a lot ‘a weed, ma boy,’ Stone, or Twan, smirked. His voice was dark and raspy from, apparently, all the smoking he did. ‘You jus’ gotta make a joke out of life or you’ll die like _really_ young.’ He pointed at a tall blonde kissing a Native American looking bloke. ‘Tha’s ma girlfriend. Sapphire!’ The girl turned around and came their way. She kissed Stone lovingly. Sapphire and Stone, thought Luke, _I see_. ‘Whassup love?’

‘Was just with Awan,’ she answered and lay down next to her boyfriend on the ground. ‘I’m Sapphire, by the way. Can I watch the stars with you?’ Luke nodded in approval.

‘Luke,’ he said his name. ‘Have you seen Ashton? Ashton Irwin?’

‘Eh, I saw ‘im with a girl earlier,’ Stone answered. ‘Think I saw ‘em go back to her tent. Ye friend’s getting shagged. She was A-OK, very pretty.’

‘He is my boyfriend!’ Luke screamed in sudden fury.

‘Oh, that’s no good, my friend,’ Sapphire said, biting her red lower lip. ‘Want us to help you find him? Ashton is Honey Curls, right?’ Luke shrugged, nodding. That would make sense. He had honey-colored curls, after all. All three very stoned, they went on the hunt for Ashton Irwin. Luke once in a while screamed that he was going to kill him when he found him (and that he _would_ find him). But before anything, he suddenly was woken from his trans by loud uproar from only a few feet away. Calum was ripped at by thugs in leather. The blossoming did not know if it was the pot or the fury, neither did he know where this sudden strength came from. It all happened very fast. From one moment on another he had Michael’s gun in his hand and it was no ten seconds later that the thug lay on the ground, bleeding and lifeless.

Luke had committed his first murder.

It was already late, when they came home, but he skipped his night’s sleep. He drank an extravagant amount of coffee on the grass outside their cabin and smoked cigarettes, allowing nobody to get too close. A part of him was afraid, another loaded with adrenaline. He was guilty of a murder now.

‘Luke, you cannot just keep sitting here forever, staring into the distance,’ said Ashton. He sat down next to his companion and tried to touch his arm, but the younger flinched. ‘I want you to sleep in bed with me, again. This cannot go on forever, darling. I know what it is like. After your first murder, your sight on things gets different. Things will never be the same, I guarantee, but stop moping and staring, my dear, it will not solve anything. If anything, it will make things worse. You shot him out of defense for your best friend. He may have murdered Calum, if you had not pulled that trigger so quickly.’ Luke let Ashton touch him now. The elder gently rested his fingers on his right bicep. ‘The only ones angry at you, are men we will never see again. They will not find us, ever. That is one promise I am willing to make.’      Luke looked at him, with the eyes of a doe, and the young man stroked the cheek of his lover softly with his fingertips.

‘They called you _Honey Curls_ ,’ said the blonde, a slight smile around his lips. ‘I like it.’

‘Goldilocks and Honey Curls?’ Ashton laughed. ‘That will do, for me.’ The elder kissed him, his silky lips touching the younger’s rocky ones, from the lack of hydration and food he had consumed over the past week. ‘Will you sleep in bed with me, again?’

‘Yes,’ answered Luke, but his face looked questionably. ‘I am afraid to go to Hell, Ashton.’

‘I am sure you will not go to Hell, my dear,’ said the elder soothingly. ‘You have done nothing wrong. Nothing happened on purpose. You could not have prevented this, no matter how badly you would want to turn back time and do just that, right now.’

‘Do murderers not go to Hell?’

‘I do not believe in Heaven or Hell,’ Ashton smiled. ‘I believe we will be together in the hereafter. Can you hold onto that thought, too?’ The blonde nodded. Because yes, he could. _Forever_ with Ashton sounded nothing but perfect.

In July, both Ashton and Luke celebrated their birthday. Ashton became twenty-one, Luke became seventeen, nine days later.

‘One year until it is time,’ whispered Ashton in the blonde’s ear, that night. ‘I cannot wait.’ And the younger just giggled, quietly, touching his chest.

‘You do not have to wait,’ he said. ‘My desire for you burns brighter each day.’ Ashton shook his head. ‘Okay, but if you ever change your mind…’ Luke kissed him. They made out heavily, a steamy session on the double bed in their small room. The younger touching the elder on his chest. Ashton carefully, not to go too far out of direction, caressing the blonde’s thighs and his waist. Luke tried moving so that his lover’s  hands would be on his bottom, but Ashton only laughed at that and told him to be patient.

‘Perhaps, one day, I will leave,’ said Luke suddenly, in September. The month’s birthstone made him think of the Black Page Night. Sapphire, it was. He had not heard from her or Stone since. Part of him wanted to see them again, just talk and smoke weed, perhaps, with no knifes or other murder weapons around. Another part of him did not know if he would be able to handle the confrontation. He blew the smoke of his cigarette out of his nose and looked at Michael, who frowned.

‘Why would you want to leave?’ the older blonde asked, surprised. ‘Do we not have a tight bond with the four of us? I do not feel like I would be able to leave, even if something would be waiting for me.’

‘What if there is a chance on a good life out there, for me?’ Luke asked and bit his lower lip. ‘What if there is somebody out there who wants to marry me? A job, for when I am… thirty, something. I have no clue about the life of people outside the business of criminality, Michael!’

‘You have Ashton,’ he said. ‘Maybe, when you are around thirty, he will want a steady job, as well, and you can be together in that “good life”, as you call it.’

‘I do not think so,’ Luke sighed. ‘He said, and I quote, “this is no life for a woman and children”.’ Michael laughed quietly.

‘As far as a life _like that_ goes,’ he smirked. ‘You are saying your wife would be Ashton? Because unfortunately, that is not happening. Obviously, you are more woman-like than he will ever be, with your long hair and dainty figure. Calum found lingerie, in your closet, when he was cleaning. Mind explaining that?’

‘Ashton will not sleep with me,’ he groaned.

‘Oh, I know that,’ Michael said. ‘We tell each other very nearly everything. That is not the problem. Question is, though, _why the hell_ do you own lingerie of the pretty kind? Calum says it is lace. He wears lace for me, sometimes.’

‘Why would you tell a virgin something like that?’ Luke asked.

‘Do not put yourself down like that, Luke,’ the elder commanded. ‘You are pure, we are just filthy. Ashton has shagged so many people in his life, I do not even understand why you would want to get on top of that.’ He scanned the boy’s body. ‘Or under that, in this case.’  Luke laughed at that.

‘What do you want me to say?’ he sniggered. ‘ _I long for his manhood_? Like Achilles said about Patroclus. Because I will not, although I do wish he would just make love to me now. I would literally spread my legs for him around three in the morning at this point.’

‘Greedy,’ laughed Michael. ‘You are eighteen in less than a year.’

‘I know, it just seems so far away. I feel like such a child with my purity intact and all.’

‘You should be proud,’ the elder smiled. ‘Eighteen is a great age to get rid of it.’

Luke rode Arion with Gabriel, who sat on Marsette’s back during the ride. They talked about their lives. Part of the blonde wanted to tell him everything. He was such a good listener. It was a shame that he was not part of their little community. Maybe it was for the best, though, Gabriel Ryder was too pure of a soul to do such cruel things to others. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LUKE YOU'RE SO GREEDY  
> GREEDY BOTTOM


	6. Chapter 6

Calum had taken Luke out for the day. They went to the city of Brisbane and shoplifted. Lingerie of high class from a specialized store and flowers from the florist. Luke’s eighteenth birthday was _tomorrow_. He would be a grown man, then. Perhaps not fully grown, but he would be a man in terms of official cases.

‘You look amazing,’ said Ashton as Luke entered the bedroom. He had dressed up in the bathroom, Calum helping him with the necessary. Michael was drinking in the kitchen and the brunet had said that he would be no use tonight. Ashton, however, had only drunken a couple of beers, in order to be able to _control himself_ when he would see his lover that night. Luke blushed furiously, looking at the tips of his toes as if they were the most interesting things in the room. But they were not, he knew. Ashton sat on the bed, bare except for boxer shorts of half-thigh length. Luke wore flowers in his hair, Stephanotises and Stars of Bethlehem. They were both white. ‘Come to me.’ And so the younger did. He stood still in front of the bed. Ashton admired him, eyes like those of a magpie seeing pure silver hanging from one’s neck. The difference was, that Ashton knew that he would get what he wanted and the bird could not be sure. Plus, of course, the fact that Ashton had been waiting for this moment for many years.

‘How do I look?’ asked Luke shyly. ‘Is it too much? Too little? Just right? Please say something, I am started to get very self-conscious.’

‘No need for that, my angelic dear,’ said the elder. ‘You look incredible. I have been waiting for this for four years, my darling, please come closer. I want to touch you.’

‘You wanted to sleep with me when I was fourteen?’ Luke chuckled. ‘That is _wrong_.’

‘It is not,’ smiled Ashton. ‘I never acted like it, did I? Some people just have hidden desires and by that, I do not mean I secretly have pedophilic feelings towards children, which I must admit you still were when you were fourteen.’ Luke climbed onto the bed, slowly. ‘You have been patient, not always as patient as I wished you to be, but you have actually waited until you were eighteen. My boy has become a man.’

‘Is _about to_ become a man,’ Luke corrected him. ‘I will not consider myself a man until I lose my virginity.’ Ashton smiled at that and kissed him passionately. Maybe that was not the right word. _Hornily,_ was the more proper term. He kissed him as if he could not contain himself any longer, which, if you think of it, he probably could not.

‘I love the lingerie,’ said Ashton breathlessly after minutes of heated making out. ‘but I want you bare. May I undress you?’ The younger nodded eagerly. Maybe, somewhere deep inside, he was slightly afraid of the scene that was about to go down. Afraid that Calum had lied to him to make him less scared and that it would hurt a lot, instead of _a little at first, but later it gets a lot better_. Afraid that he would let Ashton down, that he would not be good at it. What if he could not please him? It made him anxious, but he hid it with security written on his face and sensual movements. Ashton expertly took his lingerie off. He kissed his body lovingly, treated it as though it was the most precious thing he owned. And Luke was fine with him seeing his body as his property. If anything, he craved being _his_. ‘So, so beautiful, I cannot believe you are mine.’

‘All yours,’ smiled Luke. ‘Will you make love to me, now?’

‘Yes.’ Luke’s manhood had risen and so had Ashton’s. ‘I am going to be as gentle as I possibly can. I promise, is that okay for you?’

‘Of course, yes!’ Luke just wanted to _feel_ him, the sooner the better. Ashton took him in his hand and smoothed his premature ejaculation, touching him tenderly. ‘May I touch you, too?’ Ashton nodded heavily, because of course he could. Luke did the same thing to his lover. His member was large and hard as stone. This was only the first time he caught a glimpse of it. Ashton kissed the head of his shaft softly.

‘Will you spread your legs for me, now?’ asked Ashton decently. Luke did so, letting Ashton spread them as far as he wanted to. ‘You smell like Zwitsal, it is my favorite.’

‘Yes Ashton,’ Luke laughed. ‘it is the only shampoo we own.’ The elder kissed the insides of his thighs tenderly, then slicked his fingers up with spit of his own.

‘You will have to keep your voice down just a little, okay darling?’ said Ashton. ‘It will not hurt, there will only be some discomfort. I will guide you through it.’ Luke nodded, getting mentally ready for what was about to come. Ashton’s finger prodded at him, before entering. It was uncomfortable, but there was, indeed, no actual pain. The elder’s fingers were long. Luke moaned a little when he hit a certain spot inside him. He hit that spot again, as if he had known his body for years, then entered another digit. The discomfort stayed for a while longer now, but Ashton did not let him get used to this as much as he did to the first pointer. Sliding in one more,  Luke felt overwhelmed. ‘Are you okay?’ He had not guided him through this with his voice, but somehow he knew what he meant by the movements he made and that was enough for him to feel okay.

‘Perfect,’ Luke said and moaned quietly. It was a nice feeling, warm and positive, and he was getting used to the steady rhythm in which Ashton moved. ‘I am ready, now.’ Ashton pulled out soon after that announcement and kissed him again. Luke clenched around air, feeling empty. When Ashton entered him with his manhood, it felt like he was being ripped apart for a moment and he cried out in pain.

‘It is alright, my darling,’ soothed Ashton him. ‘It will not last long.’ He muttered a ‘neither will I’ under his breath. ‘You are doing great.’ When they had found a comfortable position, which Ashton between Luke’s legs and the younger holding onto his shoulders with effort, they also started working on a rhythm. It felt good. The way it had hurt could not compare to the amount of pleasure he felt now, just minutes later.

‘So good!’ screamed Luke in bliss. ‘Oh, it feels so good! I love you, I love you!’

‘I love you, too,’ Ashton breathed in his neck. ‘You are such a good boy, Luke, so good for me. Doing so good. I can barely believe how well you are doing.’ Luke held onto him tightly, feeling the love and heat radiating from his muscular body.  They both climaxed soon after each other. Luke saw white from pleasure for a second.

‘That was amazing,’ said the younger, his head resting on Ashton’s chest as if it were a pillow. ‘I am a man, now.’ The elder nodded.

‘You are. How does it feel? Being a man?’

‘ _Good_.’

Michael and Calum watched him carefully for the next couple of days, claiming that people were supposed to look different after making love for the first time, but that he looked no other than he used to. Ashton grumpily said that it was just a myth, losing your virginity was no life changer. However, Luke felt different, satisfied. Now that he knew that this was going to be a normal thing, getting it on in the bedroom (other places, too, if he was lucky), he was peaceful and calm about the topic of sleeping with others. Something in him had snapped (a clue: it was not his hymen, he was a man).

They did not stay in Brisbane for long, after that. It was really just another year, until they decided it was time to move again. To Melbourne, this time. That was far Brisbane, but worth it. They lived in an apartment on the second floor of a complex, actually paying for it, now that they had the money and Luke had begged them to reduce their crimes. It was not big, but very decent and there were two good bedrooms with steady frames and mattresses ready for them. Their kitchen was pretty and the bathroom was nowhere near bad either. The only downside was no more Arion, Marsette or Gabriel. And that made Luke quite upset, but he quickly found a new friend. Auguste Saint-Yves, a young man around his own age who owned a sanctuary for farm animals he had saved. He ate no meat, that interested Luke, but he did not have the money to change his diet. That would mean he would need to buy his own food supplies, which would equal stealing as he had no money of his own, and he did not want to. They settled in Melbourne for a while and stayed for three years. When Auguste left for Perth, they went with him. Ashton, Michael and Calum had become friends with the bloke as well. He was a good person with a kind soul and amazing intentions of making the world a better place (Luke thought he was too good for this cruel world). The others got less repulsed by the idea of stopping the crimes until one night in July.

Luke had become twenty-three and Ashton twenty-seven. Michael and Calum were both twenty-five. They sat on the beach, enjoying the soft, warm wind that came from the sea.

‘I have been thinking,’ said Ashton abruptly. ‘I want to settle down. I am twenty-seven. What do you think?’ Michael and Calum looked at each other, nodding.

‘We do as well,’ the elder spoke for both of them. ‘We have talked about this, without you, but did not want to force the idea until somebody else came up with it.’ He looked at the youngest blonde. He had cut his hair, it was now down his shoulders again, curling from the sea salt. It floated in the wind. He looked at Ashton.

‘Do you want to... with me?’  
‘Settle down?’ Luke nodded. ‘Yes, of course darling. How could I settle down with another? I love you too much to be able to love somebody else in that way, ever.’ Luke smiled.

It was okay to not have it all figured out, know life from soup to nuts. Luke went with the flow of life. Knowing that no matter how many downfalls there were going to be, for each and every one, there would be a high as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn it was nice to write this little '50s thing (don't know if I'm remotely allowed to call it a story). Also, Luke in lingerie, pray for me pls.


End file.
